The photo above was the scene I encountered as I visited a property to investigate why a mower had stopped working and the application that runs the mower was displaying an “upside down” error message. Well, the app was accurate. This post is an effort to explain why “regular people” underestimate what is involved in “autonomous’ mowing.
By David Decoteau
Authors Note:
I am going into my sixth season of installing autonomous mowing systems for clients in the Central Pennsylvania region under our Mr. Mowbot division of Earthscapes. Not to “toot my own horn” but, that puts me squarely in the “early adopter” category. Use this link to see a news story WNEP of the Wilkes Barre area did on our company.
I will go even further in my self promotion and say, I think I am probably the second most knowledgeable person in Pennsylvania, in regard to robotic mowers and their application in this area. I am a member of all the nerdy robot mower user groups, and trade magazines, and organizations. The only guy I know more knowledgable than me on robotic mowers is Dwight Escheman of Robotic Mower Services, in the Lancaster area, and he and I are good friends, who talk often and compare notes. He has taught me much.
So, what have I learned in 5+ years in the robot mower business?
I started having an epiphany last fall, and it’s even more obvious this spring, and that realization is as follows:
People who I have outright SOLD autonomous mowers to…have mostly given up on them.
People who I have LEASED autonomous mowers to…have good experiences.
It’s really that simple.
The reasons for this truth, are many and various, but at this point, I am confident that this is in fact a legitimate conclusion. Below is my data, theoretical reasons for the trend, and my conclusions in regard to what this means for both robotic mowing, and what it might mean for the wide scale adoption of robots and robotics as we sprint into the age of Artificial Intelligence.
How do I know leasing is better than owning? What is my data?
My phone screen shows the status of three mowers at a time, and then I scroll down to see each and every mower I have sold and out in the world working (or not working).
Of course, this is not some expensive study that I have scientifically conducted using grant money and thousands of data points from around the globe. It’s not peer reviewed, and I really doubt I will be considered for any level of Nobel Prize for this work. But what I do have is five years of data, from arguably the most prolific autonomous mower company in the region, in an industry that is “fledgling” at best. So, take it for what it’s worth…but it is real data.
Collection method
I have all the mowers I have ever owned or sold paired to my phone, so I can see whose mowers are running at any given time…and which are not. I can’t see their homes or any kind of personal security violation level information, but I can see if the mower is working. And by and large…folks who buy the mowers and try to “go it alone to save money”, don’t do so hot.
Most of my clients who “go it alone” think autonomous mowing is going to be “point and shoot”. Like they are going to unbox the equipment, read some short instructions (or no instructions at all) and be intuitively able to run the mower…because it’s going to do everything for them. But this turns out to be the worst mistake a person can make. At this point in time, opting for “autonomous” mowing is more of starting a new hobby, with a fairly steep learning curve. And I think after a few years of autonomous mowers growing in popularity, many folks will look back on these early days as actual detriments to the growth of autonomous systems…instead of the exciting and promising early days they should be. I think folks get disillusioned by the complexity of this new technology, and the drawbacks, and the frequent updates and changes…and they quit.
What I see on my screen is most of the mowers I have sold…sitting more than working. I will list why I believe that is the case below, and continue with why leasing is better, and what I think can and should happen from here.
Why people who buy Autonomous mowers give up:
So, when you consider getting into Autonomous mowing, you have a fantasy time of seeing how cool the robots are, and envisioning yourself having a cool drink poolside, while the mower does everything for you. Silently. Efficiently. Flawlessly.
Different models of mowers allow me to see different levels of details of a property. This is a map from a Husqvarna 435 All Wheel Drive model.
But then you buy the mower, and you quickly realize that this is going to be different than what “mowing” was previously. Sure, you learned the basics about what robotic mowing was before you bought the mower…but now it’s real. You quickly realize that this is more like letting your computer loose on your lawn, than it is pulling a cord, hearing the motor come to life, and then “cutting the grass”. You quickly realize that EVERYTHING is different now.
Problem 1 - Error messages
Then, comes the first small stump, of low spot, or too radical grade change, or even sticks, that can get lodged under the deck housing and stop the mower enough to generate an “error” message on your phone and stop all mowing outright. And these messages can happen at any time, because the mowers have to work A LOT OF HOURS to keep a lawn mowed. So you might be able to fix the “error” real quickly if you are home, or you might have to wait until you get home to fix it…and that means you lose a whole day of mowing. And since the mowers need a lot of time to cut the grass, and they don’t have a lot of power to plow through longer grass…losing a day of mowing can be disastrous to keeping the lawn cut. This creates stress.
And the above are just the obvious error messages. What do you do when you get a “no loop signal” error message? What if your base station is flashing blue lights at you? What if everything looks great, but your mower won’t go…or dock…or do anything?
Remember, the #1 priority of these robots (and likely all future robots) will be “human safety”. On the surface, that sound great and noble, but on a practical level…it translates to just about everything shuts your robot off in the name of “safety”. That is the case with these autonomous mowers, and Ithink that reality is foreshadowing of what might be in store for a society more reliant on robots and AI tech.
Problem 2 - Breaks in wire or location connectivity
So, these mowers come in both wired and wireless versions, with some companies actually offering hybrid versions that are a combination of both types of systems. In the early days, the mowers used a system very similar to dog fence to find its way around the yard. and for the most part, that’s a pretty good system and one we still use today. It’s fairly analog in nature, but that’s kind of its strength. the system either is properly installed and in working order…or it isn’t. The problem is, if it “isn’t”, it’s really pretty hard for the owner of the system to figure out what is wrong.
Here are some problems I have had with wired systems:
A heavy truck drives across the lawn and breaks wires.
AERATION - this will absolutely DESTROY a wired system to the point of a redo
Squirrels, Skunks, and all manner of diggy animals will break and sometimes eat wires.
Someone sticks a shovel in the ground in the wrong spot.
Contractors, settling, sink holes, etc - so many things can happen to wires.
So a wireless system is the holy grail, right? Not so fast, Skippy. Wireless systems also have their peccadillos.
Here are a few problems with wireless systems:
Hills, sand mounds, and other topography can “hide” an area from a wireless signal.
Dense groves of trees can interfere with signal.
Strong electrical currents, metal, or dead spots from wifi, etc… can have an effect.
Granted, the industry is adding things like lidar and more wifi connectivity, on top of GPS and other location services, but the truth of the matter is that it’s still not perfect, and some people don’t want to deal with extra cost and hassle of a booster and antennas to get signal to everywhere on the property. Most people JUST WANT THE GRASS CUT…without a lot of hassle. Wasn’t that the whole point of getting these “autonomous” mowers?
Problem 3 - Repair Service
About 10 minutes after the owner of Robot Mower gets their system working, and the adrenaline spike of seeing the mower cut the grass for the first time quickly fades, the mower owner’s first thought is typically, “Hell, I hope this thing is a real piece of lawn equipment, and not just a toy I bought. This thing is going to have to be ROBUST to keep this lawn cut.”
Any “early adopter” knows of the perils of “being early to the party”. One of the main problems is: who is going to fix this kind of unknown and mysterious thing when it breaks? And to be honest, this is a SERIOUS AND REAL concern in the world of Autonomous mowing and robots more generally.
Your dealer is supposed to be the one charged with taking care of these kinds of things. And that’s one of the reasons why my company (Mr. Mowbot) deals with Husqvarna Automowers almost exclusively. Husqvarna has been making robotic mowers for over 20 years, and have decades of experience with robot mowers in Europe before they started selling them here in the states. So, since service and support was one of my main concerns about getting into this business, it seemed a “no brainer” to go with the brand that had a seemingly insurmountable head start in the business, on top of the fact that they have been involved with lawn and garden equipment since 1919.
You would think this was a good plan and strategy, but some days… I am not so sure.
Over the past five seasons I have watched Husqvarna squander what I thought was a head start that was impossible to lose. So much so, that I bought stock in the company, and reasoned that even if they lost the race for equipment supremacy, surely they would at least have proprietary systems and tech that other start-up companies would have to license in order to be contenders…right? Well, as it turn out…not so much. The stock is stagnant at best. The product also seems pretty stagnant, and their prices are among the highest in the sector. To me, that’s pretty serious mismanagement by this company that I had pinned my hopes to as the path to success.
Add to the mismanagement at Husquvarna corporate, the absolute disarray of their dealer network, factory reps, and their actual mechanics and technicians and you have the perfect storm of floundering autonomous mowing. So much I could discuss and get into here, but that would require a separate post to cover it property.
I will say this much: in my neck of the woods, mechanics don’t want to work on Automowers. They don’t like them. They want to work on motors and grease fittings, and putting rings in cylinders and spark plugs on heads. They like heavy steel blades and a lot of horsepower. They are not in any way about wires and electric motors and “diagnostics”. As a result, you get bad service, (if you get any service at all), and that’s because the mechanics don’t take the trainings provided by Husqvarna. And that’s allowed to happen because the owners of the Dealerships want to keep their mechanics happy, and there aren’t enough Automowers in use to make getting the trainings economically feasible or necessary. So, as a result, you have Dealer mechanics with less working knowledge of these mowers than many hobbyists. that’s not a recipe for service success.
Problem 4 - realizing that you might have to do more landscape work to your property than you really want to do.
This one is a double-edged sword for me. The robotic mowers WILL NOT cut you any slack in regard to if you have a landscape issue. That is to say, if someone pulls a car into your yard, and they leave ruts…your mower will IMMEDIATELY let you know about it…because it will get stuck and stop. And, it won’t get stuck just one time…it will get stuck in that same spot, over and over again…until you decide to fix the problem. It will not allow you to procrastinate. You MUST keep the yard in pretty impeccable condition if you want the mower to be able to maintain the yard in any reasonable way, without returning endless error messages and getting stranded for hours and days at a time. Like I said, this is both a good thing…and bad thing; depending on how you want to look at it.
In addition, these mowers don’t deal well with leaves and other seasonal things that can happen to the lawn. You can’t put off doing any of the work that need to be done, or the mower will simply not work anymore. And since the Automower blades have no “lift” to them, like a traditional mower: you really need to mow your yard a couple times each year, to get the grass blades to stand-up to be mowed evenly. If you do not do this work, the grass can grow horizontally across the ground and not look as appealing as it could. This all means that to have an attractive and healthy yard, the Automower owner needs to KEEP THEIR TRADITIONAL MOWING EQUIPMENT. This is unfortunate, because one of the great advantages of autonomous mowing would be emptying your shed of gas cans, and oil, and leaf blowers, and all the accouterments of petroleum powered mowing. But alas…owning your Automower does not get you to that promise land…yet.
That being said, for a landscaper like me, who leases Automowers, and has the gear in our shop that we can move to our customer’s properties easily using our trucks and trailers…it’s really a “value added” proposition. We get a good deal of “extra landscape work” out of getting our Autonomous mowing customers yards up to speed, so the mowers can work. We get grading and seeding and drainage work from leasing Automowers. So for Autonomous mowing leases, Earthscapes and Mr. Mowbot work together like pees and carrots. 🥕
Problem 5 - things change
Ok, so you dealt with all the other problems mentioned above, and you think you have a pretty good grip on things now. You joined all the online “user groups” that Automower nerds join, in order to keep up with your mower and the quickly changing industry. You learned more about the zillions of problems the mower could encounter, than you ever wanted to learn. You feel like you now have a pretty solid and realistic idea of what these mowers are….and are not. So now, it’s all “gravy” right? No.
You go out, and (like the picture at the start of this article), your mower is now “upside down” in a place it was never upside down before. Why? Well, in the case above, in the three years since that system was installed, the bank of soil above the retaining wall in the photos has apparently settled. And now, a spot that never caused me any trouble before…is now trouble. And I can’t wait to fix it, or the mower will fall off the wall repeatedly. So my choice is a rerouted wire, which might mean shutting off the mower for some days to fix it…while the lawn grows too long for the mower to manage once it’s back online.
Uggg! I quit!
Why people who lease Autonomous mowers have better experiences
Roughly using the list of problems from above as a guide and rationale for an argument for leasing over owning:
The client doesn’t have to worry about error messages…unless they want to. We give our clients an option to connect to the mower with Automower Connect…or not. With a lease, it’s like contracting with any other lawn company…you just want your lawn cut. We make sure that happens. But if you do want to learn about Automowers, so that when your lease is over, you will be skilled enough to run the mower yourself…you can. You get a three year learning period in most cases, although we do have shorter lease terms as well.
Breaks in wire and connectivity are the problem of the company - you don’t have to worry about these things for the terms of the lease. You get to see the problems that can happen, without being RESPONSIBLE for fixing everything…while your grass grows long and out of control.
Repairs - we have extra mowers. If your mower goes down, we bring another one to your property while we fix yours. Easy as that. The client has no panic, or waiting for parts, or learning how to fix their mower (while voiding your warrantee). You don’t have to hope some dude who can barely change the oil in a Briggs, is now diagnosing circuit boards in your expensive and finicky $4K Automower.
Landscape needs - we talked about this a little in the “problems” section above. Bottom line: you need a landscape company to keep your Automower working the way it should work. If you try to do all that yourself, you are going to curse your automower, and eventually go back to traditional mowing.
Things change relates to all of the items above. You never get to the point with your Automower where it’s simply “autonomous”. It’s a bit of false advertising, if I am being honest. These are not “LAWN MOWERS” in any real sense of those words, but they are instead, “LAWN MAINTAINERS” that can make the amount of time you spend actually mowing the lawn lesser…but never zero.
If people get into automowers, without knowing all the information above, I fear most will have a bad experience, that will ultimately lead to a two-season mower either sitting in a shed, or being sold on Facebook marketplace for a pretty significant financial loss, and ultimately badmouthing autonomous mowing by all those who dare be “early adopters and owners” of automated mowing equipment.
What this might mean as we enter the time of A.I. and robots
In conclusion and looking forward, I recommend two things:
I obviously recommend leasing this equipment over buying it, for all the reasons above. In addition to all that, at the end of the lease, you can:
Own and run the mower yourself
Upgrade to the newest tech.
Or simply walk away without having to sell or store anything.
No fretting too much about a quick “take over” of robots and A.I . If nothing else, my time installing autonomous mowing systems has taught me that NOTHING IS COMING OUT OF THE BOX…AUTONOMOUS. There is going to be a STEEP learning curve with all this new tech, and that’s going to take some time. I am a big fan of Elon Musk, and all his predictions and timetables for implementation, but I fear he is again, WAY too optimistic about how these technologies get adopted and integrated into the “real world” (just like automowers).
Whenever “safety” is job #1, it’s going to slow things WAY DOWN. So many unexpected things will happen that will create lawsuits and demands for better systems, that what comes out the other end of that process will likely not look anything like what was originally envisioned by visionaries like Musk. The bureaucracy and red tape of all these things will grind the integration process to slower than a Automower 435 on a steep slope in wet weather. We will get there, but it’s going to creep along for a while.